Each stage in the development of the baby comes in due time. What months does the baby begin to sit? At first glance, this is a simple question that could be answered with a single number if these numbers were not so individual. One child sits confidently at 6 months, the other at 8. Where is the norm? Most likely in both cases.
Tender age
How does baby development begin? So he was just born and has only unconditioned reflexes. A newborn baby must be handled very carefully. When picking up a child, it is important to hold him correctly. To do this, there are several suitable poses: “cradle”, that is, a horizontal position, a vertical position - a column that is used after feeding, face down on the tummy. What unites them is that the adult always supports the baby’s head. The neck muscles of the crumbs are still very weak, and he can not hold the head.
A few words about evolution
Why are small children born so helpless? After all, newborn foals and calves immediately get on their feet. And the baby will need about a year of life for this. True, kittens and puppies are also born very helpless - they are very small and blind. But this is, firstly, the cost of the fact that these cubs are many in the litter. And secondly, they grow up very quickly. By the year the cat can already bring offspring. And the baby only takes the first steps. What is the reason?
It's all about evolution. Homo erectus and a sharp increase in intelligence created a person along with advantages and disadvantages. Due to the movement on two legs, the skeleton has changed, including the structure of the pelvis, because it is to it that the legs are attached and it accounts for the main load. The pelvis has become narrower. A noticeably smarter brain required a larger skull. As a result, it turned out that a very large head of the child should pass through the narrower pelvis of the mother. Therefore, children are born less developed than the cubs of the above animals. Otherwise, the baby’s head would be too big, and he simply could not be born.
And the complicated nervous system of a person needs much more time for development. If we talk about the question, from how many months the child begins to sit, it is worth remembering that in the animal world no one except a person takes such a pose. If animals are sitting, then not on the buttocks, but resting on their paws. This is a typical human acquisition and is also associated with upright posture.
Motor ontogenesis
The motor development of the child goes from top to bottom - from the head to the legs. The first attempts to hold the head appear already in 2-3 weeks, but the child still can not cope with this. Until 1.5 months, he should not hold his head for a long time - if this happens, you should not be proud of your child, but go to the doctor: the reason may be intracranial pressure. From 2 months, the child begins to pull the handles to the object, which fell into his field of vision and interested him. At 3 months, the baby is already confidently holding the head. In addition, at this age, the first prerequisites for crawling appear, which will rapidly develop later.
At 4-5 months, babies usually roll over from back to stomach and vice versa. At 6-7 months, the baby begins to sit down. In addition, he stands on all fours. Of course, this does not depend on how many months the child begins to sit. He begins to crawl in parallel with this, but this is a completely independent process. It is believed that crawling especially develops in the period from 5 to 9 months. This is a very important stage, because at that time all the muscles of the child develop and there is no big load on the spine, unlike sitting, standing and walking.
In addition, children are better at owning hands. At 11 months, for example, the baby can drink from a cup.
By the end of the first year or beginning of the second, children begin to walk.
Child learns to sit
Sitting is a new skill, so its development is gradual. From the first attempt to sit down to a confident seat will take about a couple of months. What months does the baby begin to sit? The first attempts to sit in babies are usually observed in the region of 5-6 months.
Children most often begin to sit at 6-6.5 months, still uncertainly, with support. When sitting, the baby rests on one or both hands, easily falls on its side.
At 7 months, children can usually sit without resting on their hands. The kid sits from a supine position. At 8-9 months, the child can sit much longer, and sits from a prone position.
Without haste
The biggest mistake is the idea of adults that if the child does not sit down, you need to speed up the process. Parents begin to seat the baby, surrounded by pillows that support a sitting position. They begin to put the child in a stroller with a vertical back, put on his knees in line with the doctor. All this does not need to be done. Also, you should not wear a baby in a carrier such as a kangaroo. If the crumb body is not yet ready for a new pose, such actions can harm its fragile skeletal system. This can lead to problems with the spine and deformation of the pelvic bones. The fact is that the spine of the newborn is still deprived of the bends that adults have and are needed for upright posture. They are formed gradually. Active children, making various movements, train their muscles themselves and eventually begin to sit down. It is not so important how many months the child began to sit, how much he is ready for this.
No need to sit a child ahead of time and in terms of mental development. When a baby wants to sit down, he has a need for a broader view. While this need is not there, the baby, instead of curiosity, will experience anxiety and insecurity. In a new position, he will feel unstable.
Before - Not Always Better
If the baby himself sat down, not reaching 6 months, you do not need to let him sit more than an hour a day. But to return the child artificially to a lying position is not worth it. It’s better to try to distract him, grab onto the pens, walk with him.
How many months the child begins to sit - this is not a reason for competition. Sitting too early - in 3-4 months - may be a sign of muscle hypertonicity. In any case, if there is a strong deviation from the average terms in one direction or another - consult your doctor.
Does the floor affect?
It is believed that motor development depends on the gender of the child. How many months do boys begin to sit? It is sometimes accepted that boys learn to sit before girls. And if the baby has not yet begun to sit down, parents begin to rush things. In fact, artificial sitting down prematurely is harmful for both boys and girls. In the future, the child may encounter scoliosis and impaired posture, and this is not necessary for anyone. True, for girls, the long-term consequences of sitting down early are indeed more serious. It is not so important how many months the girl begins to sit. The child will catch up with his. But a small deformation of the pelvis may not noticeably affect the girl’s health for years, but if she becomes pregnant, she may have a long difficult birth, and in cases of especially severe pelvic contraction, a cesarean section.
Individual characteristics
And the idea that boys always sit before girls is a myth. How many months a child begins to sit determines many factors. For example, children with low weight sit earlier than the more well-fed ones - after all, it is easier to hold a light body than a heavier one. The exception is premature babies. Despite the small body weight, it is more difficult to master motor skills. Do not forget that the child has to make up for the months lost in the womb, and in more difficult conditions of our world. It is hard to say exactly how many months a premature baby begins to sit. If he later masters new postures and movements, they recommend massage, gymnastics and swimming. Nevertheless, the development of the child is an individual process.
Moreover, some children begin to sit later than crawl, and this is also a variant of the norm. Norm or delay - the doctor will say. There are much more signs for this than the ability or inability to sit. Signs such as muscle tone will tell you about the condition of the motor system. The reaction to people and objects, as well as the pre-speech development of the child - his humming and babble will tell about mental development.
If the child does not sit down
As already mentioned, artificially planting a baby is not worth it. But trying to strengthen his muscles will be beneficial. There are special exercises for this.
- Firmly holding the legs and slightly by the tummy, place the baby on a hard surface with his back to himself. Press lightly on the back so that the child leans forward. And then on the tummy so that he straightens up.
- Put your baby on the back. To train the abdominal muscles, you need to pull the right handle to the left leg and vice versa. The baby will be in a sitting position at such moments, but he cannot be fixed in this position for more than 4-5 seconds.
- The lateral abdominal muscles are strengthened by circular movements. It is necessary to give your thumbs to the baby lying on his back so that he grabs them. After that, raise the child above the surface by 30-45 ° and make movements back and forth and left and right. You need to do this very smoothly and accurately. Sharp movements can worsen a child’s well-being.
What kind of exercise the child needs, you can understand if you carefully observe the baby:
- if the child does not keep the back straight, rounds it off - that means he has weak back muscles;
- if it tumbles back - you need to strengthen the press;
- falls to the side - the lateral muscles require attention.
New opportunities
This provides many new opportunities. Each new stage in development expands the world for the child. The baby is still not able to freely crawl on the floor, mastering the space, and has not yet risen to his feet, which will further increase his vision. But the view of the world from a prone position and from a sitting position is completely different. The kid can already cover the room.
The appearance of a sitting posture does not coincide with the introduction of complementary foods. Of course, this point is associated with the readiness of the digestive tract for new food. But the ability to sit plays an important role here. How many months the child begins to sit on his own, determines his readiness for food from a spoon. The baby can observe the food of adults and have an interest in this process. And also it becomes more convenient to feed him from a spoon. The child is not a passive object of feeding, which put something in his mouth, but an active participant. With his pose, the baby can show mom whether he is hungry. If so, he leans forward and reaches for the spoon. If you do not want to move back.